Milwaukee’s Central Standard Craft Itinerary 

The Brew City Trail is about more than beer. Milwaukee is a city built by innovation. The birth of the motorcycle roared to life here, the QWERTY keyboard found its footing, and, yes, the city’s booming brewing scene made Milwaukee the city it is today.  

Behind the Brew City nickname is Milwaukee’s proud craft tradition, a city with blue-collar roots that takes pride in our work. We know the value of a job well done, a drink made well and a meal done right.  

Rooted in history and forged in community, you’ll find that pride throughout Milwaukee’s 191 neighborhoods. It’s seen in our brewing scene, heard in every rumble of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, tasted in dishes at James Beard-recognized restaurants all over town and savored best with a Central Standard cocktail in hand.  

Welcome to Milwaukee’s craft itinerary. What’ll it be? 

Day 1 

Hotel: The Trade—A Marriott Autograph Collection Hotel 

Milwaukee was built brick by brick, forged by industry and the craftsmen, masters of their trade. Welcome to The Trade Hotel, your home for the next three days, and a meticulously detailed tribute to the legacy of the workers who made Milwaukee famous. Opened in 2023, it’s a luxe stay with unique design features peppered in throughout, like the stairwell arch resembling the iconic Hoan Bridge and the brewing kettles behind the bar of Craft, one of the hotel’s three dining offerings. Your check-in comes with a token for each night of your stay, resembling trade tokens from the early 1800s that Wisconsinites swapped for goods like milk, bread and beer. These days, though, the Trade token will net you a special beer brewed just for the hotel or a Sprecher craft root beer.  

Glass Note Candle Bar 

Going hand in hand with the city’s craftsman spirit is a strong creative undertow. You’ll find it in murals that crawl up the sides of buildings, in the underrated music scene and inside makerspaces all over town. Let’s get to work. Somewhere between a pottery class and a paint and sip studio is this candle bar. Each two-hour class lets you make the candle of your dreams from scratch as you create a custom fragrance, pour in the soy wax and then let it cool, all while savoring signature craft cocktails, wine or beer. It’s the perfect souvenir, and one that’ll keep on giving once you get back home. 

Dinner: Swingin’ Door Exchange  

The history of this local favorite is as long as it is interesting. To take a deep dive into this saloon’s past is to glimpse a cross-section of Milwaukee through more than a century of growth. Originally the city’s telegram hub connected to the Grain Exchange in the 1800s, it turned into a tavern in the 1930s and has stayed that way to the present day. It’s changed hands a few times, but the Swingin’ Door Exchange’s old-school charm is very much intact. It’s snug, and it packs them in on Friday nights for their fish fries, but it’s worth it. The move here? The cod or perch fish fry and an old fashioned made with Central Standard’s North Brandy. It doesn’t get more Milwaukee than that. 

Laughing Tap 

Say what you will, but the art of the joke has just as much to do with craftsmanship as it does cleverness. The timing, the structure, the punchline, holding just enough back to keep the audience guessing, and slamming home a point to the roar of the laughter. There’s nothing like standup comedy, and you can find it in the Cathedral Square neighborhood. Home mostly to comedians on the rise, this 120-seat venue is a place to relax, unwind and laugh out loud at the subtle absurdities of life. No drink minimums, just pure comedy in a relaxed setting. 

Drink: Boone & Crockett 

Much like the adventurers of this bar’s namesake, Boone & Crockett rewards those who are willing to go a little out of their way for the right drink. It’s tucked away in the Harbor District, and with a name that pays homage to Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett, you can already sense the cozy, frontiers-inspired aesthetic.  In a bygone era, this place was a cooperage, a barrel-making business kept busy by the booming brewing industry. These days, it’s a hipster hideaway, with a spectacular view of the Hoan Bridge’s lights, the river flowing by and serving quality cocktails under the motto “pretentious drinks without the pretentiousness.” In warmer weather, their patio has one of the best waterfront views in the city, and on cooler days, the bar offers cozy respite from the elements. Great views, great vibes, great drinks. Can you really imagine capping day one in any other way? 

Day 2

Breakfast: Comet Café 

Scratch-made comfort food is the order of the day every day at Comet Café, and with a menu that includes dishes like meatloaf, a compact turkey dinner and mac n cheese, it’s easy to see why. It’s worth a trip any time of day: breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, drinks, but brunch is where Comet really shines. Inside, you’ll find an upscale diner with supper club vibes and even a Wisconsin wilderness live feed when the moment’s right. On weekend mornings, this place fills up with hungry brunch lovers in want of chicken and waffles, bacon and eggs, and the Stendler, a load of a breakfast burrito that includes eggs, hash browns, cheese and hunks of corned beef. Add to it a menu of drinks that lend a little local flair and cleverness to well-loved brunch cocktails like the Naughty Badger (a dressed-up Irish coffee), and it all starts to make sense: this is the place to be. 

Milwaukee Art Museum 

It’s an icon, an emblem of our city that is, just maybe, the first thing that comes to mind when you hear Milwaukee. For 25 years, the Burke Brise Soleil has gently waved, beckoning visitors and locals to come a little closer and explore what’s inside its 40 galleries. A turducken of architecture, the Santiago Calatrava-designed building is a work of art in and of itself, home to a collection of nearly 35,000 pieces and set against the natural beauty of Lake Michigan. Inside, you’ll find names like Warhol and O’Keeffe, Kandinsky and Rockwell, Monet and Picasso, and so many more, all in one place. You could spend a whole day here, moving from gallery to gallery, looking at the brushstrokes on each painting or watching the waves roll in along the lake. 

Lunch: Hen's Deli 

If there’s a holy grail of slow-cooked meats, you may well find it here. Inside a dining room that’s snug enough to be a living room is a sandwich shop that serves some of the finest sammies in the land. Among a menu of scratch-made bagels, schmeared with cream cheese, subs piled high with meats and cheeses, tortas and breakfast sandwiches, all available while supplies last, is their specialty, the pork pastrami sandwich. It’s 1/3 pound of thinly sliced, slow-cooked pork, topped with pickled onion and horseradish mayo on a brioche bun from Peter Scortino’s Bakery on the East Side. There may be a line, and you might have to take it to go, but it’s worth it. We promise. 

Miller Brewery Tour 

Beer built this city. It’s at the very heart of what makes Milwaukee, well, Milwaukee, and you don’t have to look hard to see the industry’s fingerprints all over the place. Names like Schlitz, Blatz, Pabst and Miller sent their signature brews across the country and around the world, making Milwaukee the brewing capital of the world. You can still see much of that history at places like the Pabst Mansion, the Pabst Theater or the Brewery District, but the Miller Brewery takes the city’s brewing roots to an immersive level. Their daily tour takes you through the active beer giant’s facilities as you see how their hallmark brews—the likes of Miller Lite and Miller High Life—are made, packaged and shipped. At the end, you even get to have a taste of some of the freshest Miller products around. Cheers! 

Dinner: Harbor House 

The Bartolotta Restaurant Group has been a mainstay in the Milwaukee culinary community for over 30 years, and with restaurants like this one, it’s easy to see why. As the name would suggest, Harbor House rests on the edge of Lake Michigan. Their menu, an elevated selection of fresh seafood, flown in daily, and choice cuts of steak, comes with some of the best skyline views you’re likely to find anywhere in the city. Before an entrée is ordered or a dessert is dreamed of, the seafood tower is a must. It’s a showstopper and a feast for the senses with crab legs, shrimp, oysters and all the treasures of the sea that you can savor with the lapping waves of Lake Michigan in the background.  

Turner Hall Ballroom 

Sound mind, sound body, sound waves at this century-old Milwaukee staple. Once a gym and gathering place for the Milwaukee Turners, a social club of German immigrants dedicated to athletic, academic and civic engagement, the building is now one of the city’s concert venues. It’s been around since the late 1800s, and the Romanesque architecture and Cream City brick pay homage to its founders. It’s even rumored that some of those founders’ ashes live in the walls. But once the lights drop and the band takes the stage, the historic atmosphere fades into the background. Shows here lean on the intimate side, with a floor capacity of just under 700 and a general admission setting that lets you get close to your favorite artists. 

Drink: At Random 

There are cocktail bars, and then there are cocktail bars that know what they’re doing. To find out what that means, step inside At Random. Unassuming outside, unmistakable lounge vibes inside, here you’ll find low ambient lighting, leather booths and a massive cocktail menu that dates back to at least the 1960s. No matter if your post-show go-to is something sweet or a drink served neat, At Random has you covered. Their specialty is ice cream with a boozy twist, but with a history that dates back to 1964, there’s a good chance that, if it’s got liquor in it, they’ve made it before. In the summer, there are patio tables under string lights, and in the winter, At Random breaks out a Magic Forest motif with heated spaces for you to come in from the cold.

Day 3

Coffee: Discourse Coffee 

If you’re looking for a soundtrack to the city, turn your dial to 88Nine. If you’re looking for a specially crafted coffee, set your sights on Discourse Coffee. When you step inside this Walker’s Point coffee house, the two worlds collide: signature coffee drinks, independent radio and an on-site record store. Drinks here are made differently. Each one tells a story. They give you a flavor for a city where the moniker “Brew City” references more than just beer, with unexpected ingredients like black lava salt, pork fat, candied lemon powder and moon water that pair beautifully with 88Nine’s playlist, all picked by DJs just a few feet away. There’s tons of space, natural light, and there are even terrariums on the café’s tables.  

Brunch / Lunch: Central Standard Crafthouse & Kitchen 

In the world of spirits, this place sets the standard. Their Cabin Strength Bourbon, Red Cabin Bourbon, Door County Cherry Vodka, Standard Issue Vodka and North Wisconsin Brandy have all won awards, and if they gave awards for making Cubs fans red in the face, their L Flag Bourbon would win that one, too. They’re spirits so good that you can drink them on their own or make cocktails so good that, if only for a minute, beer and seltzers drift from the consciousness entirely.  

Founded after a few drinks by a pair of friends with a shared dream of making the best spirits around, Central Standard was forged in high-ABVision and named after the one thing they shared in common, Central Standard Time. 

Since then, they’ve opened the Crafthouse & Distillery. The building once belonged to the Wisconsin Leather Company, making it a craft house in more ways than one, and it serves some of the best cocktails in the land. The wooden floors and support beams give it character, and the lunch or brunch menu gives you an excuse to get the morning started with a well-crafted cocktail in hand. 

Milwaukee River Cruise Line 

Lake Michigan gets a lot of the headlines in this city, and for good reason. It’s the second-largest of the Great Lakes, and so huge it looks more like an inland sea than anything else. But winding through Milwaukee are the city’s three rivers: the Milwaukee, Menomonee and Kinnickinnic Rivers, and today’s your chance to see it all for yourself. Launching in the heart of downtown, this is as close to a yacht as you can get without renting your own. There’s indoor and outdoor seating, and the 90-minute trip takes you through the cityscape, under bridges and into the confluence of all three rivers before revealing sweeping sights of the skyline. 

Harley-Davidson Museum 

Somewhere between an art gallery and a history museum is this gem along the Menomonee River. You see it all over the world. Emblazoned on T-shirts and leather jackets, on ball caps and rumbling hogs that made Milwaukee a motorcycle mecca, two words synonymous with motorcycles all around the globe: Harley-Davidson. The brand revolutionized the way we see motorcycles, turning the humble bike into a lifestyle, a bold declaration of who you are with each endlessly customizable detail. You can catch that brand in action on all seven continents, but you can only see that history for yourself at the world’s only Harley-Davidson Museum right here in Milwaukee. There’s Serial No. 1, quite possibly the first bike that ever came off the assembly line; Evel Knievel’s noble steed that saw him through death-defying stunts; and a tank wall that shows off the personality of a brand that changed with the times. Beer may have built Milwaukee, but it found its swagger as it roared through town on a Harley-Davidson. 

Dinner: Oscar's Custard & Burgers 

Like cheese curds, beer and some of the best spirits in the land, custard is a rite of passage in Milwaukee. Tons of shops are dedicated to the richer, creamier cousin of ice cream, and locals cling to their custard loyalty with the seriousness of sports fandom. With four decades under their belt, though, Oscar’s does it as well as anyone. Opened in 1984, it’s hard to believe that this custard shop is something of a newcomer to the scene, but its slightly chewier recipe of custard has earned it a following that’s helped Oscar’s grow to three locations throughout the Greater Milwaukee area. There’s vanilla, chocolate and a flavor of the day that keeps things interesting, but don’t overlook the shakes. The thicker custard swirled with your favorite mix-ins is a dangerously good combo. 

Fiserv Forum  

If you want to know what the Milwaukee Bucks mean to this city, give Deer District in 2021 a quick search. More than 65,000 people packed into the plaza to witness history as Milwaukee brought home its first championship in 50 years, and you can still feel that energy as you pass through on your way to a game today. The team itself is entering a new era. No longer the conference favorite, it’s green and growing, full of promise and excitement, with an eye for the future that makes being a fan right now feel like you’re getting in on the ground floor of something special. With one of the best stadiums in all of basketball and a passionate fan base that gives every game a quality atmosphere, to understand phrases like Bucks in Six or Fear the Deer, you really have to be here. 

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American Family Field 

While other stadiums across the country may have their dials tuned to the weather report for rain delays or postponements, in Milwaukee, it’s always the perfect weather for baseball. Built in 2001, American Family Field is one of the few baseball stadiums in the country to have a retractable roof, meaning there’s never a rainout, never a harried hustle with a tarp and never the need to break out the poncho or brave a wet seat. On the field, though, the Milwaukee Brewers are making some noise, leading the league and having fun doing it. The smallest market in baseball is also home to the four-time N.L. Central champs with Cy Young-quality pitching, Gold Glove-standard defense and clutch bats that everyone hopes will propel the team to its first World Series appearance since 1982. Pro tip: Find the Loge Level bar in right field for a Central Standard Wisconsin brandy old fashioned or sidecar cocktail in a can. 

The Outsider 

You don’t have to be an insider to know about this place. Stop a local and ask them for a rooftop spot to grab a drink. Odds are they’ll point you in the direction of The Outsider. Located atop the Kimpton Journeyman Hotel, you’re met with low ambient lighting in the evening, mood lighting for the main attraction: craft cocktails with a skyline view chaser. When the weather’s cooperating, the fire pits on the patio are the place to relax, unwind, catch up with old friends or sip your cocktail, made with Central Standard’s award-winning spirits, as you soak up the city views and rerun the memories of the weekend in your mind. Stay gold, Ponyboy. 
 

Explore the Brew City Trail

That’s the Central Standard craft itinerary. That’s the Milwaukee way. You can explore more of Milwaukee’s roots, brewing tradition and craft spirit along the Brew City Trail. Walk through the home of a beer baron, raise a stein in a beer garden, tour a historic brewery, sip a craft cocktail or follow the trail from the city’s brewing past to its future. However you explore it, Milwaukee beer history is alive, pouring and ready to give you a taste of the true Brew City.